AT&T Launches BlackBerry Bold Sales

After months of delay, AT&T is finally offering RIM's flagship BlackBerry Bold...but will its feature set and $299.99 price tag still appeal to smartphone fans?

AT&T has finally launched sales of RIM’s BlackBerry Bold smartphone in the United States, following months of delay to ensure the unit would operate effectively on AT&T’s network. RIM initially announced the BlackBerry Bold back in May 2008, and while the phone represents the flagship of RIM’s revamped BlackBerry line, will consumers and businesspeople still line up to spend $299.99 on the device, given how much the mobile landscape has re-aligned in the last half-year, largely in response to the iPhone 3G?

“Election Day is all about choice, and the addition today of the BlackBerry Bold to AT&T’s industry-leading roster of smartphones gives AT&T customers yet another fantastic choice through which they can have a superior experience in accessing e-mail, making a phone call, browsing the Web, or performing myriad other data functions,” said AT&T senior VP for devices Jeff Bradley, in a statement.

The BlackBerry Bold features a 480 by 320-pixel, 217 dpi display, a 624 MHz processor, a full QWERTY keypad for messaging and email, 1 GB of onboard memory with another 16 GB of storage available via microSD cards, a 2 megapixel video-capable camera, and desktop-style full-HTML Web browsing capabilities. The BlackBerry Bold also comes preloaded with a slate of applications, including AT&T Navigator and Mobile Music service, XM Radio Mobile, and MusicID—and users can tap into the AT&T MEdia Mall to get third-party applications for sites like eBay, a wide selection of games, location-aware applications, and media services. And, of course, the BlackBerry Bold can access BlackBerry-enabled enterprise and corporate email and calendaring services, so folks can keep up with their work messages and contacts while they’re on the go.

The BlackBerry Bold is available for prices starting at $299.99 at AT&T retail stores and through AT&T’s Web site; BlackBerry service plans start at $30 per month with a qualified voice contract, while unlimited corporate email and data packages start at $45 per month. Voice service along is $39.99 per month.